Various forms of such apparatus for winding cable on cable drums are known. This type of construction is known as the portable type. With it, the spindles which serve as cable drum supporting pins can, by means of slides , be easily brought to the required height for inserting the spindles into the central openings of the cable drum by movement of the vertical stands toward one another through shortening of the telescopic traverse which connects them. However, with such apparatus, considerable difficulty has been experienced in obtaining the required exact alignment of the axis of the cable drum with the axis of the spindle. The cable drums are frequently so heavy that they cannot be put in the required position by human force. Hence various possibilities of aligning the cable drum mechanically have been proposed. One of these proposals is that a pit is provided in the floor of the factory in which two rollers are supported parallel to a center line which lies exactly vertically under the spindle axis. This is a high additional construction cost which is increased in that a cover must be provided so that removal of the still heavier wound cable drum is not hindered by the rollers.
Another form of construction, works with a bar which extends through the central opening of the cable drum and which is put in the required position by lifting by means of crank arms.
The possible arrangement of a cross slide increases the cost of construction and the space required. Moreover, two motors are necessary for each of the pairs of slides provided on both sides of the gantry. Because of the high weight of the cable drum, the slides, in particular the horizontal slides, must be correspondingly robust.